CHARLOTTE, N.C. — The Better Business Bureau (BBB) is warning people to think twice about sharing your senior photo on social media.
It’s part of the Senior Picture Challenge on social media to show support for the graduating class of 2020. But according to the BBB, this challenge and other viral posts can open your information up to scammers.
“It’s not just your senior picture, but then you say it’s from Northside High School in 1985. Oh, and I remember my favorite teacher was Mrs. Smith,” said Tom Bartholomy, president & CEO of the Better Business Bureau of Southern Piedmont.
Bartholomy said marketers and scammers are looking for this kind of personal information.
“They’ve already got your name, address, phone number, those types of things, but they can pull in other data points,” Bartholomy said. “It builds that profile on your that you don’t know that you’re helping them build.”
Other viral lists posts, including all the cars you’ve owned, favorite athletes, and top 10 favorite television shows, can share personal information online.
According to the BBB, these “favorite things” are commonly used passwords or security questions, and if your social media privacy settings aren’t high, you could be giving away this valuable information.
“Scammers can go, ‘Oh look, I know what her favorite pet’s name was when she was growing up,’ and plug that into the security question,” Bartholomy said, “so there is some risk there in playing a fun little Facebook game.”
To stay safe online, the BBB recommends resisting the temptation to play along with these games, reviewing your security settings to see who you’re sharing information with, and changing security questions and settings if you’re nervous something you shared could open you up to fraud.
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